Mary Ellen (Meme) Hieneman, Ph.D., BCBA has joined All Children’s as the new Clinical Coordinator of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) Services in the ACH Division of Developmental and Rehabilitation Services. Dr. Hieneman holds a Ph.D. in Special Education and is a board certified behavior analyst. She previously served as the research director for the Positive Family Intervention Project at the University of South Florida, St. Petersburg and was an assistant professor in the Division of Applied Research and Educational Support, Department of Child and Family Studies at the de la Parte Florida Mental Health Institute at USF.

Dr. Hieneman will coordinate the integration of ABA Services on main campus and in selected outreach centers, working collaboratively with other departments. She has extensive experience in consultation, training, research, and applications of ABA practices. Her numerous publications include the book Parenting with Positive Behavior Support: A Practical Guide to Resolving Your Child's Difficult Behavior (Brookes Publishing, 2006).

New Hours for ACH Retail Pharmacy

The All Children's Retail Pharmacy has extended its hours of operation from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Friday. The new hours will better accommodate the needs of inpatients about to be discharged as well as many of our Emergency Center patients. The pharmacy works to ensure that every child who needs a prescription on discharge can have it filled at our pharmacy, making it easier for families to return home complete with needed medications—some of which may not be readily available in the community.

The pharmacy accepts most insurance plans. Many over-the-counter medications and supplies are available, along with nutritional supplements, thickening agents, and breastpumps and breastfeeding accessories.

You may contact the ACH Retail Pharmacy at 727-767-8933 (phone) or 727-767-8818 (fax). The Pharmacy is located on the first floor of the Hospital.

Spotlight on
Grand Rounds

Pediatric Grand Rounds are held Fridays from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. in the Education & Conference Center. They are also webcast live and available as archived presentations at www.allkids.org/cme.

All Children's Hospital (ACH) and Johns Hopkins Medicine (JHM) are pleased to announce another step in the progression toward their planned integration. On January 27, 2011, the All Children's Health System Board voted unanimously in favor of the integration agreement. ACH and JHM have started the necessary filings. The process is expected to take approximately 60 days. Additional announcements will be made when this process is completed.

All Children's will continue delivering the expert and compassionate care that this region has come to count on. We remain totally devoted to children's care, and, as we have throughout our history, will be a leader in pediatric treatment, education, research and advocacy.

Patients and their families, the staff who work here, and the communities we serve at All Children's Hospital can be assured that we will remain steadfast in our mission to provide the highest quality pediatric care to all children.

As non-profit institutions with long histories of treatment, teaching and research benefiting their communities and beyond, All Children's and Johns Hopkins Medicine share similar missions. This is a non-cash transaction – no purchase or sale - but rather an opportunity for All Children's to join a system with a 120-year history of educating physicians and pioneering breakthroughs to benefit future generations globally.

The integration of All Children's into Johns Hopkins Medicine creates a synergy that allows both partners to continue their mission-centric work in children's healthcare. We believe it increases All Children's value as a key community asset, extending benefits near and beyond to the families of children in need of top-notch clinical care by adding the benefits that the world-class teaching and research opportunities of Johns Hopkins Medicine will bring.

All Children's Hospital will retain its name and its longstanding commitment to the children of Florida. Donations made to the Hospital's Foundation will remain for the benefit of All Children's.

Leadership and day-to-day operation of the 259-bed freestanding pediatric hospital in St. Petersburg and outreach facilities in eight west Florida counties are not expected to change as a result of the integration. Board governance structure guarantees that local community leaders will continue to provide guidance and oversight of All Children's as majority members of the Hospital's Board of Trustees.

The first Practical Pediatrics Seminar of 2011 will be held Saturday, March 12 in the ACH Education & Conference Center. "Adolescent Gynecology" is the focus of the seminar, which will feature speakers from All Children’s Obstetrics and Gynecology Specialists, which recently introduced a weekly Adolescent Gynecology Clinic. In addition, keynote speaker Dr. Karen Hoover of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will focus on Reproductive Healthcare for Adolescents. The program is chaired by Jeffrey Carlson, M.D. and includes these talks:

There is no fee for the seminar, but advance registration is required. Please go to www.allkids.org/conferences to register. The program begins at 8 a.m. and concludes at 12:30 p.m.

As part of its ongoing quality improvement efforts, each year All Children’s recognizes outstanding quality improvement initiatives. In January, President and CEO Gary Carnes and Dr. Michael Epstein, Senior Vice President of Medical Affairs, presented awards in several categories.

There were two winners for Hospital-Wide Quality Improvement:

Revitalizing Bedside Care Collaborative

This project on 8 North (Medical Unit) mirrored national projects such as the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s “Transforming Care at the Bedside.” The goal was to increase time spent at the bedside in direct patient care through teamwork and improved processes. The team exceeded its goal by increasing the percent of time in direct patient care from 39.5% to 52.3% and by involving families in family-centered rounds. Many of these initiatives are spreading to other units of the Hospital.

Safe Medicine Practices Improvements (ISMP)

An interdisciplinary team worked to enhance medication safety and adopt recommendations made by an interdisciplinary team from the Institute for Safe Medicine Practices (ISMP). The project addressed both systems and processes, including prescribing, procurement, dispensing, administration and monitoring. Many ISMP recommendations have been put in place and the Safe Medication Team continues to implement additional recommendations.

The Departmental Quality Improvement Award went to the Emergency Center for its Procedural Pain Improvement Project, which focused on greater staff and family awareness of pain management for lumbar punctures. The project resulted in improved local anesthetic use for pain control in 92% of patients receiving lumbar punctures, and local sedation use to relieve anxiety in 77% of patients one year of age or older.

Honorable Mention in the Departmental category went to the Radiology & Imaging Department for the Imaging Improvement Project: Reducing Radiation Exposure. The goal was to establish MRI as an alternative for CT, thereby reducing radiation exposure for many patients. This was achieved through rapid MRI turnaround time, extended MRT hours, and the use of modified MRI brain scans in lieu of CT.